Facets Of Impulsivity Research Articles

Impulsivity in consumers with high compulsive buying propensity

Compulsive buying (CB) is a pathological behavior leading to impairment and distress. Evidence suggests that CB is associated with impulsivity and hoarding. However, multi-method investigations of impulsivity in CB with and without hoarding are sparse. In this study, consumers with high CB propensity (CBs; n=28) and controls (n=21) were compared with respect to self-reported and behavioral impulsivity. We investigated the association between impulsivity and hoarding in CBs and compared CBs with hoarding (HCBs) and CBs without hoarding symptomatology (NCBs) with respect to self-reported impulsivity.Compared to controls, CBs scored higher on self-reported impulsivity, except for “sensation seeking”, but performed equally on behavioral assessments. Hoarding was more prevalent in CBs. Self-reported but not behavioral impulsivity was significantly correlated to hoarding symptoms. Compared to NCBs, HCBs reported to be more impulsive. However, the impulsivity facet “urgency” was the only significant predictor of CB although other impulsivity facets and acquisition-unrelated hoarding symptoms were considered.CBs and especially HCBs perceive themselves as more impulsive. However, this is not reflected on a behavioral level of impulsivity. Future studies should investigate impulsivity in CB under the consideration of hoarding using larger samples and more ecologically valid behavioral assessments.

The influence of impulsiveness on binge eating and problem gambling: A prospective study of gender differences in Canadian adults.

This study investigated the degree to which facets of impulsiveness predicted future binge eating and problem gambling, 2 theorized forms of behavioral addiction. Participants were 596 women and 406 men from 4 age cohorts randomly recruited from a Canadian province. Participants completed self-report measures of 3 facets of impulsiveness (negative urgency, sensation seeking, lack of persistence), binge-eating frequency, and problem-gambling symptoms. Impulsiveness was assessed at baseline, and assessments of binge eating and problem gambling were followed up after 3 years. Weighted data were analyzed using zero-inflated negative binomial and Poisson regression models. We found evidence of transdiagnostic and disorder-specific predictors of binge eating and problem gambling. Negative urgency emerged as a common predictor of binge eating and problem gambling among women and men. There were disorder-specific personality traits identified among men only: High lack-of-persistence scores predicted binge eating and high sensation-seeking scores predicted problem gambling. Among women, younger age predicted binge eating and older age predicted problem gambling. Thus, there are gender differences in facets of impulsiveness that longitudinally predict binge eating and problem gambling, suggesting that treatments for these behaviors should consider gender-specific personality and demographic traits in addition to the common personality trait of negative urgency.

The Relative Contributions of Impulsivity Facets to Drinking Outcomes

Objectives: Alcohol use continues to have a significant negative health and economic impact in the United States. Understanding factors that contribute to alcohol use and its related consequences remains an important goal of psychological research. One personality trait consistently shown to contribute to alcohol use and problems is impulsivity. The relationship between impulsivity and drinking is complex because impulsivity is a multifaceted construct, composed of urgency (rash responding to negative affect), lack of premeditation (action without planning), lack of perseverance (inability to persist in a task), and sensation seeking (pursuit of excitement). Previous research on the relation between the different facets of impulsivity and drinking outcomes has been limited by the problem of multicollinearity of predictors (ie, the intercorrelations among the impulsivity facets make their relative contributions to drinking outcomes difficult to interpret). Methods: The current study overcame this problem by analyzing the relationship between impulsivity and drinking outcomes using relative weights analysis, a technique that determines the proportion of variance explained in a dependent variable that is accounted for by each independent variable after taking into account multicollinearity of predictors. Results: Results revealed that (1) sensation seeking is the best predictor of alcohol use across the impulsivity facets, (2) urgency is the best predictor of alcohol-related consequences, (3) premeditation is important to the prediction of all alcohol use outcomes, and (4) perseverance may not uniquely explain alcohol use outcomes. Conclusions: It is concluded that facets of impulsivity differentially predict alcohol use outcomes.

RISK TAKING, RESPONSE INHIBITION AND THE RIGHT INFERIOR FRONTAL GYRUS

ObjectiveThe ability to inhibit motor responses has recently been linked to risk-taking behaviour, including gambling. This suggests that those with high trait levels of sensation seeking, the major personality determinant...

Vulnerability for mania – is it linked to problems delaying gratification?

Impulsivity is described as one of the main risk factors for mania. One facet of impulsivity, the inability to delay gratification, might be of special relevance, because a hypersensitivity to reward is hypothesized to be related to mania. The main aim of this study was to examine whether risk for mania is associated with deficits in the ability to delay gratification using both a behavioral and a self-report (UPPS) measure. An additional reason for choosing the UPPS was to see if prior results about an association between risk for mania and positive urgency could be replicated. Thirty-three individuals at risk for mania and a matched control group were selected using the Hypomanic Personality Scale and interviewed for a history of mood disorders. The main outcome measures were the Single-Key-Impulsivity-Paradigm and Monetary Choice Questionnaire. The groups did not differ in measures of gratification delay but we replicated other studies reporting significantly higher levels of positive urgency and sensation seeking in at-risk individuals. We suggest that individuals at risk might not generally be more impulsive but rather that impulsive behaviors might be triggered in response to specific mood states.

Impulsivity as a Multifaceted Construct Related to Excessive Drinking Among UK Students.

A substantial number of university students exceed alcohol guidelines. Impulsivity has been repeatedly implicated in heavy alcohol use, yet despite knowledge that impulsivity is multifaceted, there have previously been few studies applying multiple measures of self-report and behavioural impulsivity to examine the relationship with excessive student drinking. This results in a limited understanding of the relationship of various facets of impulsivity to student drinking. Participants completed a comprehensive battery of impulsivity measures: the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale as a self-report index and the Stop Signal Task, Information Sampling Task and Monetary Choice Questionnaire as behavioural measures of three facets of impulsivity. Participants who exceeded UK drinking guidelines were compared to those who did not on measures of impulsivity. Hierarchical linear regression was then employed to test whether indices of impulsivity were associated with the average units consumed per week. Participants who exceeded UK guidelines reported increased impulsivity in facets of self-report impulsivity. They also displayed performance deficits in normal adjustment of Go responses on the Stop Signal Task. In the regression model, nonplanning impulsivity on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale was seen to predict quantity of alcohol consumed per month. The study applies a comprehensive selection of behavioural and self-report measures of impulsivity and indicates that excessive drinkers are more impulsive in some but not all aspects. The results indicate that the wide range of deficits apparent in alcohol-dependent individuals are not evident in this younger, heavy drinking population, but that specific performance and self-identified deficits are already apparent.

Dissociable roles of dopamine and serotonin transporter function in a rat model of negative urgency

Negative urgency is a facet of impulsivity that reflects mood-based rash action and is associated with various maladaptive behaviors in humans. However, the underlying neural mechanisms of negative urgency are not fully understood. Several brain regions within the mesocorticolimbic pathway, as well as the neurotransmitters dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT), have been implicated in impulsivity. Extracellular DA and 5-HT concentrations are regulated by DA transporters (DAT) and 5-HT transporters (SERT); thus, these transporters may be important molecular mechanisms underlying individual differences in negative urgency. The current study employed a reward omission task to model negative urgency in rats. During reward trials, a cue light signaled the non-contingent delivery of one sucrose pellet; immediately following the non-contingent reward, rats responded on a lever to earn sucrose pellets (operant phase). Omission trials were similar to reward trials, except that non-contingent sucrose was omitted following the cue light prior to the operant phase. As expected, contingent responding was higher following omission of expected reward than following delivery of expected reward, thus reflecting negative urgency. Upon completion of behavioral training, Vmax and Km were obtained from kinetic analysis of [3H]DA and [3H]5-HT uptake using synaptosomes prepared from nucleus accumbens (NAc), dorsal striatum (Str), medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) isolated from individual rats. Vmax for DAT in NAc and for SERT in OFC were positively correlated with negative urgency scores. The current findings suggest that mood-based impulsivity (negative urgency) is associated with enhanced DAT function in NAc and SERT function in OFC.

Gender differences in the relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating behaviors and attitudes

ObjectiveWe investigated relationships among gender, impulsivity and disordered eating in healthy college students. MethodParticipants (N=1223) were healthy, undergraduate men (28.5%) and women (71.5%), who completed the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale — Version 11 (BIS-11) and a four-factor version of the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT-16). ResultsAs predicted, mean scores on all four EAT-16 factors were significantly higher for women than for men. Attentional impulsivity was related to poorer self-perception of body shape, more dieting, and a greater preoccupation with food for the sample as a whole. Moreover, motor impulsivity was related to poorer self-perceptions of body shape and a greater preoccupation with food. However, no gender differences emerged in the relationship between impulsivity and disordered eating attitudes. DiscussionThis study elucidates the role of impulsivity in disordered eating behaviors among non-clinical college students. For both women and men, attentional and motor impulsivity were related to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors. Overall, these findings suggest that different facets of impulsivity are related to disordered eating attitudes and behaviors in a non-clinical college population.

The Relationship between Non-Suicidal Self-Injury and the UPPS-P Impulsivity Facets in Eating Disorders and Healthy Controls.

In the present study, we investigated the association between Non-Suicidal Self-Injury (NSSI) and the UPPS-P impulsivity facets in eating disorder patients and healthy controls. The prevalence of NSSI in eating disorder (ED) patients ranged from 17% in restrictive anorexia nervosa (AN-R) patients to 43% in patients with bulimia nervosa (BN). In healthy controls (HC), the prevalence of NSSI was 19%. Eating disorder patients from the binge eating/purging type showed significantly more NSSI compared to restrictive ED and HC participants. Binge-eating/purging ED patients also scored significantly higher on Negative/Positive Urgency, Lack of Premeditation and Lack of Perseverance compared to HC and restrictive ED patients. Comparable findings were found between ED patients and HC with and without NSSI; ED patients and HC with NSSI scored significantly higher in four of the five UPPS-P dimensions compared to participants without NSSI; Sensation Seeking was the exception. Finally, the presence of NSSI in HC/ED patients was particularly predicted by low levels of Perseverance. Therefore, the treatment of ED patients with NSSI certainly needs to focus on the training of effortful control.

Impulsivity and reasons for living among African American youth: a risk-protection framework of suicidal ideation.

This study aims to explore the impact of specific facets of impulsivity as measured by the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale (UPPS), as well as reasons for living in predicting suicidal ideation among African American college-aged students. The incremental validity of each facet of the UPPS interacting with reasons for living, a construct meant to buffer against risk for suicide, was explored in a sample of African American students (N = 130; ages 18–24). Results revealed significant interactions between reasons for living and two factors of impulsivity, (lack of) premeditation and sensation seeking. Higher levels of sensation seeking and lack of premeditation in conjunction with lower reasons for living was associated with increased suicidal ideation. Neither urgency nor (lack of) perseverance significantly interacted with reasons for living in association with suicidal ideation. These results suggest including elements of impulsivity, specifically sensation seeking and (lack of) premeditation, when screening for suicidal ideation among African American youth. Future investigations should continue to integrate factors of both risk and protection when determining risk for suicide.

Revealing the nuanced associations between facets of trait impulsivity and reactive and proactive aggression

Although impulsivity has been repeatedly associated with aggression, specific associations between facets of impulsivity and reactive (RA) and proactive (PA) have yet to be fully elucidated. This may be due, in part, to overlapping variance among facets of impulsivity and between RA/PA. The current study systematically examined associations among these variables using both bivariate correlations as well as path analysis. In addition to raw aggression scores, we isolated the variance unique to both RA/PA by regressing RA onto PA (and vice versa), and saving these residual aggression scores. Participants included 384 racially-diverse undergraduates. Results indicated facets of impulsivity uniquely characterize RA/PA, particularly using residual aggression scores. RA was uniquely characterized by higher levels of Negative Urgency followed by low Perseverance, as well as high Premeditation and low Positive Urgency. In contrast, PA was uniquely characterized by higher levels of Positive Urgency, and to a lesser degree, high Premeditation. Results indicate facets of impulsivity represent potentially different underlying pathways to specific subtypes of aggression. As such, impulsivity, particularly in the context of affect, may be especially important to consider in relation to specific subtypes of aggression.

A multidimensional approach of impulsivity in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

We aimed to compare adult patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and matched controls on four dimensions of impulsivity (urgency, lack of premeditation, lack of perseverance, and sensation seeking) and to examine the association between impulsivity and ADHD symptoms. The study was conducted on 219 participants: 72 adult ADHD patients and 147 aged and gender matched controls. All participants completed questionnaires measuring the various facets of impulsivity (UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale), ADHD and depressive symptoms severity. Patients were also assessed for ADHD subtypes, mood disorders, and addictive behaviors. ADHD patients exhibited higher urgency, lower premeditation and lower perseverance in comparison to controls. Lack of perseverance showed the strongest association with ADHD (area under curve=0.95). Patients with combined inattentive and hyperactive/impulsive subtypes reported more frequently substance abuse problems and had higher scores on urgency and sensation seeking dimensions of impulsivity than those with predominantly inattentive subtype. We report for the first time a multidimensional evaluation of impulsivity in adult ADHD patients. The UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale may constitute a useful screening tool for ADHD in adults and may help to further understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying the differences between the ADHD subgroups.

The relative roles of drive and empathy in self- and other-focused financial decision making

Can poor financial decisions be traced back to individual differences, and will individuals risk their own resources in the same manner as others’ resources? To help answer these questions, we assessed the relationship between other-focused financial risk, self-focused financial risk, and individual difference variables. 952 participants at a large university in the southeast U.S. completed questionnaires on the Behavioral Activation System Drive subscale (i.e., Drive) and dispositional Empathy. They were then presented with eight financial risk scenarios in a two-by-four within-subjects design. We found that individuals’ Drive – which is associated with facets of impulsivity – predicted increased likelihood of other-focused risk investment in scenarios with higher levels of risk and reward, above the effect of empathy. There was also some evidence that dispositional empathy also increased other-focused risk investment in scenarios with lower levels of risk and reward. We concluded that there is some evidence that empathy is an important factor for other-focused behavior in low-risk scenarios, but that drive is more important in higher-risk other-focused scenarios. Additionally, other-focused risk could be seen as more aversive than an equivalent amount of self-focused risk.

Distinct Facets of Impulsivity Exhibit Differential Associations with Substance Use Disorder Treatment Processes: A Cross-Sectional and Prospective Investigation Among Military Veterans

Impulsivity, a multi-faceted construct characterized by rash, unplanned actions and a disregard for long-term consequences, is associated with poor substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes. Little is known though about the influence of impulsivity on treatment process variables critical for initiating and maintaining behavioral change. This knowledge gap is important as different aspects of impulsivity may be susceptible to diverse cognitive, behavioral and pharmacological influences. The present study examined two distinct facets of impulsivity (lack of planning and immoderation — a proxy of urgency) as predictors of processes that impact SUD treatment success (active coping, avoidant coping, self-efficacy, and interpersonal problems). Participants were 200 Veterans who completed impulsivity and treatment process assessments upon entering an SUD treatment program and treatment process assessments at treatment discharge. Results from multivariate models revealed that lack of planning was associated with lower active coping and higher avoidant coping and interpersonal problems at intake, though not with lower self-efficacy to abstain from substances. Immoderation was associated with higher avoidant coping and lower self-efficacy to abstain from substances at intake, but not with lower active coping or higher interpersonal problems. Higher immoderation, but not lack of planning, predicted lower self-efficacy to abstain from substances at treatment discharge. These findings suggest that different facets of impulsivity confer risk for different SUD treatment process indicators and that clinicians should consider the behavioral expression of patients’ impulse control problems in treatment planning and delivery.

The association between personality traits and body mass index varies with nativity among individuals of Mexican origin

Personality traits have been associated consistently with health-related outcomes, but less is known about how aspects of the sociocultural environment modify these associations. This study uses a sample of participants of Mexican origin (N = 1013) to test whether exposure to the United States, indexed by nativity (Mexicans living in Mexico, foreign-born Mexican Americans, and U.S.-born Mexican Americans), moderates the association between personality traits and body mass index (BMI). Higher Conscientiousness was associated with lower BMI, regardless of nativity. In contrast, the association between Neuroticism and BMI was moderated by exposure to the U.S.: Neuroticism was associated with higher BMI among U.S.-born Mexican Americans (partial r = .15) but not among Mexican participants (partial r = .00), an effect strongest and most robust for the impulsivity facet of Neuroticism. This finding suggests that with more exposure to the United States, those who are more emotionally impulsive are at greater risk for obesity. More broadly, these findings suggest that social and psychological vulnerabilities interact to contribute to health outcomes.

Emotion Dysregulation and Psychopathology: the Case of Personality Disorders Not Otherwise Specified

Introduction Emotion dysregulation and impulsivity are considered an hallmark of personality pathology (Livesley & Jang, 2000), even though research has mainly regarded Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD; e.g., Linehan, 1993). Recently, some scholars proposed that facets of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity are likely to be associated with different PD traits across all clusters (Garofalo et al., 2014; Sarkar & Adshead, 2006), highlighting significant association with all PDs included in the DSM-5 (APA, 2013). Objectives We sought to expand extant research exploring whether also PDs not included in the DSM nosography, yet clinically relevant and suggested for future research, were associated with facets of emotion dysregulation. Aims In a community sample, we tested the unique associations between facets of emotion dysregulation and impulsivity with traits of 3 PDs Not Otherwise Specified: Sadistic PD, Depressive PD, and Passive-aggressive PD. Methods We recruited 399 community-dwelling participants (mean age= 37.91; 56.6% male). They were administered the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004), the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11, Patton et al., 1995) and the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI-III; Millon, 2006). Results Multiple regression analyses showed that different facets of emotion dysregulation were associated with all PD traits considered. Further, impulsivity accounted for a significant amount of additional variance in Sadistic and Passive-aggressive features above and beyond emotion dysregulation. Conclusions Emotion dysregulation and impulsivity seemed to confirm their role as relevant features of personality pathology across different forms of PDs.

Impulsive choice predicts short-term relapse in substance-dependent individuals attending an in-patient detoxification programme.

Impulsivity is a hallmark characteristic of substance use disorders. Recently, studies have begun to explore whether increased impulsivity in substance-dependent individuals (SDIs) is associated with a greater propensity to relapse following treatment. Despite growing recognition of its multidimensional nature, however, most studies have treated impulsivity unilaterally. Accordingly, it remains unclear whether certain facets of impulsivity are more relevant to relapse than others. The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between multiple facets of impulsivity and short-term relapse in SDIs. As a secondary aim, we explored the role of treatment retention in this relationship. A personality-based impulsivity questionnaire (UPPS) and three neurocognitive tasks of impulsivity [stop-signal task (SST), delay discounting task (DDT) and Iowa gambling task (IGT)] were administered in a heterogeneous sample of 70 SDIs shortly following their entry in an in-patient detoxification programme. Mediation analyses were performed to explore whether the effects of impulsivity on relapse were mediated by treatment retention. Performance on two neurocognitive indices of impulsive choice (i.e. delay discounting and impulsive decision-making) significantly predicted short-term relapse. The effects of delay discounting and impulsive decision-making on relapse propensity were mediated by treatment retention. Neurocognitive indices of impulsivity may be more sensitive to the prediction of relapse than trait-based self-report questionnaires. Post-treatment relapse in SDIs may be reduced by targeting the processes involved in impulsive choice and by improving treatment retention in SDIs with inflated impulsivity.

The Zuckerman–Kuhlman personality questionnaire in bipolar I and II disorders: A preliminary report

Patients with bipolar disorder have tendencies of higher impulsivity and sensation seeking, they might contribute differently to the emotional states of bipolar I (BD I) and II (BD II). We administered the Zuckerman–Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ), the Plutchik–van Praag Depression Inventory (PVP), the Mood Disorder Questionnaire (MDQ), and the Hypomania Checklist (HCL-32) in 23 patients with BD I, 22 BD II, and 64 healthy volunteers. Both BD I and II scored higher on ZKPQ Impulsive sensation seeking (and its Impulsivity facet), Neuroticism–anxiety and Aggression–hostility, and on PVP and HCL-32 scales than controls did; BD I scored higher on MDQ and General sensation seeking facet than controls did. Compared to BD II, BD I scored higher on Impulsive sensation seeking (and General sensation seeking) and on MDQ. Moreover, General sensation seeking predicted MDQ, and Activity predicted HCL-32 in BD I. Aggression–hostility predicted HCL-32 in BD II. General sensation seeking predicted MDQ and HCL-32, and together with Neuroticism–anxiety, predicted PVP in controls. Our study suggests that Impulsive sensation seeking, and its General sensation seeking facet might help to delineate the two types of bipolar disorder.

Facets of impulsivity interactively predict body fat and binge eating in young women

Impulsivity has been positively linked to overeating and obesity, but findings are inconsistent. Studies using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) show that measures of overeating appear to be most consistently associated with scores on the subscale attentional impulsivity in both non-clinical and clinical samples. Additionally, individuals with binge-eating behaviors may have elevated scores on the subscale motor impulsivity. In the current study, young women (N = 133) completed the short form of the BIS (BIS-15), the Eating Disorder Examination – Questionnaire, and height, weight and body composition were measured. Regression analyses showed that attentional and motor impulsivity positively predicted binge eating and general eating pathology, while non-planning impulsivity negatively predicted these variables. Moreover, attentional and motor impulsivity interactively predicted percent body fat, and the number of subjective and objective binge episodes. Results show that only specific aspects of trait impulsivity (attentional and motor impulsivity) are positively associated with body mass and binge eating. Non-planning impulsivity appears to be unrelated or even inversely related to those variables, at least in female students. Elevated levels of attentional impulsivity in conjunction with high motor impulsivity may be a risk factor for overweight and clinically relevant binge eating.

The misnomer of impulsivity: commentary on "choice impulsivity" and "rapid-response impulsivity" articles by Hamilton and colleagues.

The misnomer of impulsivity: commentary on "choice impulsivity" and "rapid-response impulsivity" articles by Hamilton and colleagues.